Noem seeks congressional check on new regulations

Bill would require Congress to vote before new rules take effect

Oct. 8, 2012

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Rep. Kristi Noem is championing her efforts to oppose federal regulations as she seeks a second term in Congress, while her opponent Matt Varilek says a more nuanced approach is needed.

In speeches around the state, Noem regularly assails a “dramatic increase” in federal regulations she says are costing businesses and consumers.

“The first three years of this administration’s policies have increased our economically significant regulations by 53 percent,” Noem said, referring to regulations with an estimated economic impact of at least $100 million. “That means it is definitely having an impact on our businesses.”

An analysis by USA Today in July found President Obama had issued 200 economically significant regulations in his first three years, an average of 60 per year. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush each averaged around 40 economically significant regulations per year in their first terms, though USA Today noted inflation has made the $100 million threshold easier to reach as time passes.

Noem thinks this needs to change, and is championing a bill called the REINS Act to fix this. REINS, or Regulations From the Executive In Need of Scrutiny, would require Congress to approve any economically significant regulations before they took effect.

That’s in contrast to the current system, where Congress can override regulations once they go into effect.

“Setting that threshold for major regulations and having that accountability with Congress really would make sure that it’s regulation that’s going to be beneficial, and that we can find widespread support for it before we put it into place and start seeing potential detrimental effects,” Noem said.

But Varilek said Noem is exaggerating a problem.

“It’s true that there are some misguided regulations, and we should work to root those out,” Varilek said. “But there are additional factors that are responsible for our economic situation.”

Varilek said the REINS Act could be “dangerous.”

“As we’ve seen from the farm bill and so many other issues, this dysfunctional Congress can’t act, even in noncontroversial situations,” Varilek said. “Even if you have a noncontroversial regulation that would protect consumers, it wouldn’t go into effect without congressional action.”

Noem argued for a bigger role by Congress compared to the executive branch in setting rules for the country.

“I’m always going to put more faith in a representative government and people who are accountable to the government back home than I will a bureaucrat in Washington, D.C.,” she said.

Varilek said Congress’s current power to oversee the executive branch and overturn regulations is “appropriate” to handle any problems with overregulation.